Mothers' attitudes toward adolescent confidential services: development and validation of scales for use in English- and Spanish-speaking populations.

Purpose: To explore parental beliefs and attitudes about confidential services for their teenagers; and to develop an instrument to assess these beliefs and attitudes that could be used among English and Spanish speakers. The long-term goal is to use this research to better understand and evaluate interventions to improve parental knowledge and attitudes toward their adolescent's access and utilization of comprehensive confidential health services.

Methods: The instrument was developed using an extensive literature review and theoretical framework followed by qualitative data from focus groups and in-depth interviews.

Parental acceptability of contraceptive methods offered to their teen during a confidential health care visit.

Purpose: To examine parental acceptability of contraceptive methods offered confidentially to their adolescent daughter.

Methods: A random sample of 261 parents/guardians with a daughter aged 12-17 years completed a telephone survey examining the relationship between parental acceptability of seven contraceptive methods and adolescents' likelihood to have sex, parenting beliefs, parents' sexual health as teens, sexually transmitted infection knowledge, and demographic factors.

Results: Acceptability was highest for oral contraceptive pills (59%) and lowest for intrauterine device (18%).

Screening for adolescent alcohol and drug use in pediatric health-care settings: predictors and implications for practice and policy.

Objective: This paper used data from a study of pediatric primary care provider (PCP) screening practices to examine barriers to and facilitators of adolescent alcohol and other drug (AOD) screening in pediatric primary care.

Methods: A web-based survey (N = 437) was used to examine the influence of PCP factors (attitudes and knowledge, training, self-efficacy, comfort with alcohol and drug issues); patient characteristics (age, gender, ethnicity, comorbidities and risk factors); and organizational factors (screening barriers, staffing resources, confidentiality issues) on AOD screening practices. Self-reported and electronic medical record (EMR)-recorded screening rates were also assessed.

Male adolescent sexual and reproductive health care.

Male adolescents' sexual and reproductive health needs often go unmet in the primary care setting. This report discusses specific issues related to male adolescents' sexual and reproductive health care in the context of primary care, including pubertal and sexual development, sexual behavior, consequences of sexual behavior, and methods of preventing sexually transmitted infections (including HIV) and pregnancy. Pediatricians are encouraged to address male adolescent sexual and reproductive health on a regular basis, including taking a sexual history, performing an appropriate examination, providing patient-centered and age-appropriate anticipatory guidance, and delivering appropriate vaccinations.